on the record. the japanese prime minister tells the u.n. general assembly that japan will stand firm in territorial disputes. he says japan is not willing to compromise in disagreements with its neighbors and told world leaders gathered at the united nations that his country will defend its sovereignty. noda did not name countries but spoke at a time of heightened tension with china over the senkaku islands and with south korea over the takashima islands.

>> translator: the attempts to use unilateral power and threats to achieve selfish ends are not in accordance with the fundamental spirit of the united nations charter. that is unacceptable and goes against the wisdom of humanity. >> noda said it is the responsibility of nations to protect their territory. he said japan will fulfill its responsibility but stressed his country will uphold the principles shared by the international community under all circumstances. japanese government officials have tried to take their dispute with south korea to the international court of justice, but their counterparts in seoul have rejected those proposals. noda said countries should pay more attention to the function of the international court. and noda says japanese officials will do their best to protect relations with their neighbors. our reporter watched the speech for us and said noda was careful about how he positioned himself.

>> japanese officials were first reluctant to raise the problems with the south korea and china in the general assembly. the forum is for multi national challenges not bilateral issues. the japanese were concerned they might be criticized for not sincerely contributing to the development of international society but the theme of this year's general assembly is the rule of law. noda thought he could check recent moves by china and south korea without naming them as long as his remarks were in line with that theme. he assumed his comments would be understood as an attempt to solve these problems peacefully. the japanese government is developing alliances with the philippines, vietnam, and other countries. those countries are also concerned with china's expansion. noda's speech is seen as reinforcing that policy.

japan is also hoping to have a meeting with south korea in new york. but many observers say even if the two ministers meet they are likely to only reiterate their positions without making any progress on the territorial dispute. the chinese foreign ministry issued a statement criticizing noda. it said japan is infringing on other nation's sovereignty ignoring history and international law. the chinese foreign minister did not show up for noda's speech and will speak at the u.n. on friday. he is expected to reiterate the chinese claims and pressure japanese leaders into accepting that the territorial issues exist between them. the south korean foreign minister did not show up either. he has rejected japan's proposal to bring their dispute to the international court of justice. south korean officials believe

no dispute exists over the islands since they control them. >> awe officials from japan, china and south korea are pushing ahead with talks on a free trade agreement in this climate. leaders tlihe three countries reached agreement on a trade deal. negotiators are meeting in seoul over two days to work out some of the details. they're hoping to start formal talks by the end of the year. south korean officials indicated their political conflicts could have a negative impact on those plans. japanese business leaders will meet lateren the d ein the the foreign minister. part of the private sector effort to help mend relations. the chairman of the japan business federation traveled to beijing. and the chairman and business leaders will join in the discussions. he said they need to make

efforts to rebuild ties. china is japan's largest trading partner. u.s. secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. government will take steps. this fol lez lows an easing of sanctions in financial sectors. clinton met with myanmar's president on the sidelines of the u.n. general assembly. >> in recognition of the continued progress towards reform, and in response to requests from both the government and the opposition, the united states is taking the next step in normalizing our commercial relationship. >> the u.s. move will be welcomed by the people of

myanmar. opposition leader, currently visiting the united states called for easing of sanctions to support her country's development. jp kne japanese business officials are asking those in myanmar to improve their business environment. the chairman of the japan chamber of commerce led a delegation and met with a senior economic official. asking for swiflter measures to ensure stable supply of power and better framework for foreign investment, the senior official said he encouraged more investment from japan. he promise they'd would work towards making business easier for foreign firms. a the iranian president, mahmoud ahmadinejad,

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that they will provide support in building hospitals. they also pledge to work to promote export to iraq and to train personnel to operate such devices. >> e will work with the japanese government to raise iraq's medical capabilities. >> the equipment maker official added that his company hopes to provide the devices that will best suit iraq's needs. the japanese government has proposed a second site for the disposal of low-level radioactive waste from the accident at the fukushima nuclear plant. on thursday, senior environment minister visited the governor which borders foesh ukushima to

south. suggested as a site, the national forest in the prefecture and explained the forest is far from residential areas, offers sufficient space and topographically and geologically stable. the governor replied he needs to consult with local residents and municipalities as the matter is very important to them. later he visited the city hall and met with the mayor to seek his cooperation. he is firmly oppose to the government's proposal. local residents also have mixed feelings. >> i understand there must be a site some where. i can't completely agree with this. >> each of japan's 47 prefectures is responsible for disposing some radioactive ash and mud with cessium levels of 8,000 becerels per kilogram.

aw nasa pieced together more than 2,000 separate exposures of a small patch of the universe. the resulting image accurately captures 5,500 galaxies that are difficult to observe from earth0

>> a faers battle going on in the industry to hire well qualified programmers. in the contest, the participants are asked to write programs that automatically solve the puzzle by rearranging dice. all of the problems are designed specifically to test their skills to write gaming programs. other contestants have to come up with idea to solve the problems and put them into numbers and sim bymbols to makem work. they have two hours to solve five problems. speed is a big factor. along with the accuracy and quality of the programs.

he couldn't even start solving the last problem. the winner was a junior at the university of tokyo. he came in eighth. but he was the top winner among the high school students. >> i could have done a little better. still, it was fun. >> it is becoming harder to hire good programmers. we want to hold events like this to outdo our competitors in attracting talented programmers. >> and the company also plans to host similar contests in other countries to hire programmers with talent.

people in japan's northeast are focused on overcoming the challenges of 20911 disaster. it won't be easy they have to rebuild homes, businesses, entire communities. we will show you their struggles and their successes on the road ahead, every wednesday at 1:00 p.m. here on "newsline." >> volunteer firemen from the e -- evacuated district can't wait to get back on the job. however, when the firefighters do return, they will be prepared. nhk world's report has this story. as dawn breaks over the city, firefighters from nearby practice one final time.

they're about to take part in the skills competition in fukushima. he operates the water and he also directs the other members seeing to it that they could have places efficiently. >> it is stressful. but all i can do is my best. >> reporter: he goaes the extra mile not only for himself but for his men tore. he used to head the fire department. but on march 11, 2011, the tsunami engulfed him while he was evacuating local residents. it was his team who discovered his body the next day. >> we placed his body on the back of a pickup truck. i did the driving. and we laid him on a futon.

>> he told him how to operate the pump. making fine adjustment to the water pressure. >> translator: he was very passionate. he often told me to practice hard. if i was willing. but he also told me to get home if i wasn't up for it. on the eve of the competition, they visit it the district. this is exactly where we found his body. the disaster scenery mains untouched. even though one and a half years have gone by.

the fire department pays their respects at the grave and asked for his support in the competition. teams win points by quickly knocking down their target and moving with precision. with instructions in mind, he directs the other members. at the same time, he pays careful attention to the pumped water pressure. of the 14 companies that took part, the squad came in eighth. the result is impressive when he consider the team's evacuation

sites are located so far apart. >> i practiced hard and gave 100% in the tanuguchi trained u do. i hope this experience helps bring us even closer together. >> the fire department showed their late fire chief what they can do. now, they are determined to excel in protecting residents while everyone returns to the region. two cities in the netherlands are expression their country's friendship with japan with flowers. they dedicate aid nd a new type

tulip to those affected by the earthquake and tsunami. amsterdam mayor brought the tulip to japan and comes to the city. the flower is called the name of the region affected by the disaster. a dutch commercial grower cultivated the tulip. it changes from orange to pink as it blooms. orange the national color of the netherland. pin ak associak associated to c blossoms in culture and tradition. the mayor will visit it the northeastern city of sendai friday. they will deliverable bulbed of the tulip to the children there. >> i think that in the netherlands, a lot of people felt a lot of sorrow for the people of sendai. and this tulip can be an expression of that. >> the netherlands had close

economic and cultural ties with japan for 400 years. the only european country that traded. dutch people were active in raising fund for the victims of last year's disaster. now, people in the uk are dealing with extensive flooding, caused by torrential rain. and an update on that and more in the world weather forecast. >> hi there, a strong low-pressure system has dumped very heavy rain in the british isles. caused enor muss d ed d ed d d damage. some areas received the amount of rainfall in 24 hours wednesday. hundreds of people are staying in temporary accommodation after flooding in undated homes and caused traffic chaos on railways and some major road. the heavy rain is over, but a fresh round of showers will target the north today. further flooding is possible. now, the storm has reached the

seven scandinavian peninsula as it moves towards the east it will intensify and produce rain in finland from tonight. the system, heavy rain and strong wind will also pound in the, the southern half of the iberian peninsula from this afternoon. that could mitigate the on? going conditions here as temperatures out looking like this, looking cool towards the west. 15 degrees in london. that feels like mid october here. out toward the west, east, i should say, looking quite warm for this time of year. 23 degrees. and, in warsaw. and 26 in kiev. and heating up. moving into east asia, monitoring typhoon -- jelawat. it will hit the island saturday morning. and head towards the okinawa island. gale force wind are affecting the island. on friday, we'll see gusts of

160 kilometers. that is going to be accompanied by waves up to 10 meters. as for rainfall, more than 350 millimeters possible in eastern taiwan. that could cause further flooding. and we have another storm, tropical storm -- ewiniar. we have reports of wind over 90 kilometers in the island. and waves will reach eight meters today. as the it moves towards the east -- some showers are possible in central portion of japan, but that is not going to be severe. and out towards the west. a low-pressure system is producing thundershowers in northeastern china as well as the korean peninsula. all right, moving into the americas, then, tropical storm, continues to weaken, and pull away from mexico, that is good news. and we have a long frontal line,

stretching from the southern plains up into eastern canada, underneath the storm, severe weather is occurring. that means, severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging wind and tornados. but conditions are gradually improving as we look ahead to your thursday. all right. temperatures are looking like this to the north of the front. looking cool, 18 degrees in chicago. 17 degrees in toronto. but to the south of the front, looking very hot. in oklahoma city. 30 degrees. 33 degrees expected in houston. and 29 degrees in atlanta on thursday. that's it for me now. here is your extended forecast.

that's all for now on this edition of "newsline." i'm yuko aotani in tokyo.

thank you very much for joining us.